More Visits to Nature Hot Spots

I cannot separate the aesthetic pleasure of seeing a butterfly and the scientific pleasure of knowing what it is.

Vladimir Nabukov

10 July, 2023

Hillside Park, Waterloo, ON

     Hillside Park is one of the most reliable places we know to find Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata) and we were not disappointed. Some were even busy working on the next generation.

     It is a resoundingly beautiful damselfly and we look forward to its emergence every year.

     Eastern Forktail (Ischnura verticalis) is no less delightful.

     Purple Crownvetch (Securigera varia) is both common and beautiful, and well known by all.

     Small White (Pieris rapae), formerly known as Cabbage White is one of our most familiar butterflies.

     I find Violet Dancer (Argia fumipennis violacea) a singularly attractive name for a lovely damselfly.

     Wild Teasel (Dipsacus fullnonum) is so common it probably attracts little attention from humans, but in reality it is quite beautiful.

     Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) is one of our most familiar dragonflies. This is a female.

     A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) stealthily worked the water in search of food.

     Mallards (Anas platyrynchos) are found in a dazzling array of plumages and transitional phases.

     Amazingly, we had not seen Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) locally this year, so we were especially happy to come across a family group.

     Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) are frequently referred to as boinking beetles - and the reason is obvious. 

     Life seems to be one constant round of sex!

     A Bluet (genus Enallagma) female was a little more sedate.

     I was not sure of the name of this plant, and came up with a couple of possible choices, but I am fairly convinced it is Eastern Smooth Beardtongue (Penstemon laevigatus).

     A Two-spotted Bumble Bee (Bombus bimaculatus) diligently searched for nectar and pollen.

     Deptford Pink (Dianthus armeria) is a tiny little flower, exquisite in its delicate beauty.

     Northern Crescent (Phyciodes cocyta), seen here on Fleabane (genus Erigeron) is active at this time of year, sometimes having two generations, even at our latitude.

     American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is one of our commonest, yet most visually appealing songbirds.

18 July, 2023

Mill Race Trail, St. Jacobs, ON

     We were greeted by a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

     And where there is a male, there is often a female lurking close at hand.

     It does not generally take long on a local walk to turn up a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) or two.

     Seated on a bench, catching a few rays, was a Domestic Cat (Felis catus), just longing for a friendly human to come by, and we suited its purpose to a tee.

     It attached itself to us, all the while craving attention, brazenly seeking petting and rubbing itself against our legs, and following us along the path.

     On the return journey, it abandoned us at its bench without a moment of shame or regret, waiting for the next human to pass by and lavish attention on it. It's affection was indeed superficial and fleeting!

     A road crew was working on the bridge across the Conestogo River and upon seeing this sign Miriam commented that our cat was free!

     A Grape Leaffolder Moth (Desmia funeralis) very kindly landed right in front of us and stayed there.

     Common Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) is often found along the banks of streams.

     Margined Calligrapher (Toxomerus marginatus) is one of our commonly seen hoverflies, small, but very attractive.

     A Willow Leaf Beetle (Palgiodera versicolora) is often inconspicuous and easily missed.

     Two-spotted Bumble Bees were hard at work.

     Harvestmen (family Sclerosomatidae) are not spiders, contrary to popular belief. This individual is in the genus Leiobunum.

     By around this point in our walks Miriam and I are generally filled with high elation as we discover one thing after another - but there is always more to come, of that we may be sure.

     Common Flesh Flies (genus Sarcophaga) have a bit of a macabre connotation, although I am not sure why, since most humans are dedicated flesh eaters themselves.

     The following green fly is a member of the subfamily Sciapodinae in the family Dolichopodidae.

     Mallards patrol the Mill Race and usually approach humans who frequently bring food.

     Eastern Forktail is common in just about any kind of wetland habitat. Perhaps best not to have dreams of this one!

     Here is a typical Hover Fly in the subfamily  Syrphinae.

     Very attractive, you will doubtless agree.

     Perhaps an Alder Spittlebug (Clastoptera obtusa) is more to your liking.

     The following fly is in the genus Hydrophoria and is probably Hydrophoria lancifer.

     Black Knot (Apiosporina morbosa) is a plant pathogen that is familiar to fruit growers but has manifestations in wild plants also. 

     The infected part of the plant is killed, but in the glorious inter-relatedness of nature, habitat is created for insects. 

     This young male Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) would have no hesitation in picking off a few of those nutritious insects.

     The following butterfly looks like an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), but the Tiger Swallowtail complex is subject to intense study at present, with potential revisions at hand, including the possibility of a new species. 

     I am indebted to Rick Cavasin for the following helpful comment:

"This does look like an Eastern Tiger, but the first flight of that species emerges in Spring, and probably wouldn't survive to this date. There is a second flight but it starts around the end of July. There's a third "species" we're calling the Midsummer Tiger which looks like this and emerges right around late June to early July. It is similar in appearance to the Eastern Tiger which makes it a good match. But we're still trying to sort out the range of the Midsummer Tiger in southern Ontario, and when it flies relative to the Eastern Tiger. For now, we're calling ones that can go either way "Tiger Swallowtails and Allies". Once we get a better handle on the range and flight season of the Midsummer Tiger in this area, we'll revisit the observations."

     At the end of the trail an American Robin (Turdus migratorius) was enjoying the beneficial power of the sun's UVB rays in cleansing its feathers of parasites of various kinds, and we tiptoed past it in order not to disturb its ecstatic enjoyment of this simple pleasure.

     I had planned to add another location to this report, but it is already quite long enough. That will wait until next time.

     Until then, stay safe, take good care, enjoy nature and protect it.

TRIVIA

     Recently, I was leading a nature walk for a branch of the Kitchener Public Library and an enthusiastic participant asked me to explain the age of the Earth! A tall order you might say! As best I could, I tried to convey the concept of aging the Earth, and the manner in which deep time is organized into distinct geological periods. It occurs to me that many readers are perhaps similarly interested, so here is a table of the geological periods, scientifically proven and evidentially valid. For rational people these facts are not in dispute.

Period                            Millions of years ago

Ediacaran                        635

Cambrian                        538

Ordovician                       485

Silurian                           443

Devonian                        419

Carboniferous                  358

Permian                          299

Triassic                           252

Jurassic                          201

Cretaceous                     145

Paleogene                        66

Neogene                          23

Quarternary                    2.6

     It is generally conceded that we have now entered the Anthropocene, where human activity is fundamentally affecting the very processes that sustain life on Earth. This period may well be the last one we are able to report on - and not for many more years at that.